1/2 C sugar-free almond milk (15 calories)

1/2 tsp Organic Chia Seeds (15 calories)

Optional: 2-3 drops pure maple syrup or vanilla essence. (1-25 cals)

♥STORY

My blood sugar levels are so sensitive that I licked caramel off my finger tip this morning and ten minutes later almost had a seizure on the kitchen floor next to my confused dogs.

Blood Sugar Dramas are not good for my delicate blood flow.

No, I am not a diabetic. I am healthy as an organic ox. But somehow I feel I am going to pass out and die if I don’t have a “slow burner” in my tank before I add sweet treats to the engine.

When I get that heady feeling (a mixture of dizziness, hunger and nausea), I reach for a 60 Second Power Pump.

Protein is such a hunger prom queen these days. But gosh darn it, I can’t bring myself to eat chicken, beans or kale on an empty stomach.

When I am not creating a disaster in my kitchen, I work at a bookstore where protein titles gobble the nutritional zeitgeist. I know I should read/eat/do better.

But I like eating cereal when I get hungry!

I grew up in the 70s. Like Seinfeld, I can toss down a bowl of cereal for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, or pre/post-cocktail hour.

But oh have our cereals have grown up!

I don’t know what happened since Seinfeld grazed on a small bowl of Kix before scratching out the ’34’ on his jeans and writing in a ’32’.

But I do know that if I wanted to be regarded by the hipster nutritional crowd as lower on the evolutionary totem pole than a satan-worshipping serial killer, then I should not feed myself or my family cornflakes.

If I do, I must beware the condemnation of the Nutritional Hipster Power Crowd.

In the Seinfeld scene of my mind, the 2016 script runs like this:

“Cornflakes?” condemn the Nutritional Hipster Power Crowd.

(A GUILTY GASP falls over the audience)

-Nutritional Hipster Power Crowd Circles Unfit Parent-

“The corn!” (GMOs…I am ruining the earth!)

“The sugar!” (Don’t I know that corn turns IN to sugar in my body? I should have studied harder in school!)

“The lack of protein and fiber!” (I am KILLING my children by sending them to school devoid of a good kale/organic-grass-fed-beef/lentil ‘bacon’ start to the day!)

(FADE TO SHAME.)

Whatever the reason why Seinfeld could eat cornflakes all day long and still have a tiny butt, I don’t know.

I do know that the Nutritional Hipster Power Crowd has a point.

I feel better after eating power pluses like:

organic berries

organic walnuts

oats

chia seeds

organic sprouted whole grain wheat,

organic sprouted whole grain barley,

organic sprouted whole grain millet

organic lentils

organic sprouted whole grain spelt

But who has time to hunt all this stuff down at the supermarket?

That’s why I love when a company like “Engine 2 Plant-Strong” comes along with a cereal like “Rip’s Big Bowl Triple Berry Walnut” cereal. It has all the ingredients listed above, and more.

Since the price tag and the calorie count is a little high, I tend to sprinkle half a portion of it onto a bowl of blitzed berries, cover it with almond milk, and sprinkle with chia seeds (from the gigantic bag I got at Costco that should last me through 2029).

Once I fill up my gut, I can feel my body and brain being restored to their factory settings.

I tell myself that I am now “New-and-Improved-Nutritional-Hipster-Power-Person”.

And voila, my blood-sugar feels balanced.

Benefits of eating Power Pump Whenever You Feel Faint:

Belly is bulbous without bloat

Brain stops panicking because gut tank feels full.

Butt shrinks because a berry goes a long way. (1 cup=60 cals!)

Kids are no longer afraid of starving parent who can’t fold laundry without triggering screaming fit.